When will the 1950 census be available?

At this moment, census records from 1790-1940 are available to the public.

census records

Census records in the United States are released to the public 72 years after they were taken.

1950 + 72=2022

So, the 1950 census records will be available to the public in 2022. The 1940 census records were released on April 2, 2012.

If it follows protocol of the release of the 1940 census records, the microfilm of the census records will be available at local libraries at the time {or shortly after} public release. Also, the census was available online for free on the National Archives website. Ancestry.com provided the 1940 census records for free for a limited amount of time after their release.

However, if you don’t want to scroll through page after page of the census pages in the area you’re searching for you will have to wait a little longer.

Online indexes on websites such as Ancestry.com and FamilySearch.org, took about 6 months to a year to become available. This is because most of these indexes were compiled by volunteers.

So, if you are anxious to see what information is available about your family on the 1950 census, we all have about 5 more years to wait as of this moment.